Marlborough Express - Weekend Express
Photographers show the power of water
Lara Gilks often spends hours in a cove in the Marlborough Sounds, camera poised as she drops a wedding dress into the dark, mysterious waters and waits for a magical moment to capture.
This month, Gilks has joined Wellington photographers Richard Thurston and Christina Little in a group show, Through Water, which opened on Wednesday at Twentysix Gallery in Newtown.
All three are inspired by the water and their works are a liberal interpretation of it.
Gilks says water is her favourite thing to photograph, but she always puts something in it – in this series, light, love, darkness, it is a wedding dress. “There is a real beauty to a wedding dress, a purity, and a lot of hope all tied into that one garment.’’
She regularly visits the same spot in the Marlborough Sounds, near her husband’s family bach, which is boat-access only.
Nestled in a cove, Gilks is drawn to the isolation and spirituality of the setting. The appearance of the water constantly changes, influenced by changing tides, storms, and bursts of sunshine.
Her series includes a balance of heavier works and lighter ones. Just like life, says Gilks, who talks about its darker and lighter moments.
“It’s the impermanence of life. Nothing lasts forever,” she says.
“You lay this dress with all the hopes of a future and it gets sucked down into the depths.’’
The award-winning Wellington photographer has exhibited widely overseas. Last year, she showed her works
in group shows in Rome and Budapest, and was invited to be part of the prestigious Head On photography exhibition in Sydney.
Living in Seatoun, she resides near one of the other artists, the 44-year-old Thurston, who has three large, abstract seascapes in the show.
The abstract expressionist painter and photographer comments on the allure of the unknown, “an intrigue into the unfamiliar”.
Influenced by American abstract expressionist artist Mark Rothko – whose large-scale works moved Thurston deeply when he saw them at London’s Tate Modern – he hopes to do the same.
“The show was a great lesson in how an artist can connect the viewer through colour or the absence of it,’’ says Thurston, who won the People’s Choice Award at the 2023 NZ Art Show.
When Little grew up on the Miramar
Peninsula, she regularly went to the beach and explored rock pools for treasures. She picked up a camera at the age of eight, learned to use it, and worked in print labs for many years.
In her 20s, on her OE, she worked as a photographer and also printed photographs on the cross-channel English ferries.
A decade ago – after a long stint in the corporate world – Tītahi Bay-based Little returned to her photographic practice and has had success since; she was the Pātaka artist-in-residence in 2017, has featured in solo shows, and was a finalist in the prestigious Waikato 2022 National Contemporary Art Award.
Like Gilks, Little likes to photograph the changing waters. No two photographs are ever the same, says the artist, who is known for her colourful, vivid and playful works.
She returns to the same location many times, and often stands in the water for many hours.
For this series, it was the Taputeranga Marine Reserve which lured her.
“The water is such a powerful force, I observe the light, feel the wind changes, listen, and smell,” Little says.
“I like to photograph wave movements and rhythms, capturing the light interacting with the water and seeing how it interacts with the seaweed, rocks, and sand underneath.
“The location seems to respond back to me in more depth every time I visit. It is almost like I remember it and it remembers me.”
Through Water is at Twentysix Gallery, 26 Constable St, Newtown, until April 28.